driving in rain

[Buzzzz]

I'm bringing my car to a shop about 3 hours from my house on Saturday for some minor work. But the forecast calls for rain (figures). I've never driven the Viper in the rain. How dangerous is it? Should I expect any trouble just going normal highway speeds? I have a stock 95 RT/10. Should I not drive it in the rain? Thanks.

 

[GTS Bruce]

You should be fine.Just be extra gentle on that throttle. Bruce

 

[jcaspar1]

I have never noticed a problem. The difficulty in rain is highly over rated. Just don't get into the throttle to quickly and don't follow too close. I actually like it in the winter rains as the wipers are cool, the windshield rake usually means that you don't even need the wipers on the freeway and the heater always works great!

 

[Buzzzz]

Glad to hear it. It's not supposed to be a T-storm or anything, just normal rain. Thanks.

 

[Go Hogs Go!]

I actually had to drive my Viper on ice after I picked it up. There was about 1-3 inches of ice in the parking lot of the Big Texan in Amarillo,TX. I was scared to death. To my surprise the Viper was very sure footed on the ice, but I had to be extremely careful with the throttle so the tires wouldn't break loose. The rain should be a piece of cake, just use your common sense and you'll be alright.

 

[BigsViper]

We ran the Panoz GT RA cars in the rain at Road Atlanta, and many of us were surprised at the minimal effect the wet road had on speed and performance, and we were running the Pilot Sports. The main thing to look out for is the puddles, that's where you'll hydroplane; that and of course the throttle.

I also drove my Viper to Dallas last year for our Zone Rendezvous and it rained hard the whole way, no problem with the car (helped me to become less anal regarding it), only problem was trying to pass some of the Semi's throwing up that huge wall of water!!! Yeeeoooowwww!

 

[Buzzzz]

Good. Sounds like my biggest problem will be getting rain on my mirror finish! See my previous post for some pics.

 

[SoCal Craig]

I drove 2 sessions at Buttonwillow in the rain. The Pilot Sports worked great... not as difficult to handle as I thought it would be. Be smooth with the throttle and brakes and you'll be fine.

 

[V10 MOJO]

I agree with the others, rain driving is suprisingly no worse than any other rear-whell drive vehicle (as long as youre not doing WOT turning) the biggest problem, for us RT10 owners, is the **** shower you take inside the car if your going over sixty and/or the rain is heavy. Top leakage is definitely an issue.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

I agree with all said so far. We have driven in rain many times.
You just need to be careful on the throttle. One problem not mentioned yet is the big tires on dished out roads. It's bad enough on dry roads, but is greatly accentuated in heavy rain where water puddles in the 'tire' lanes. I always try to run with one tire near the shoulder so as to stay out of the dished out lanes. If there's no traffic, I ride with one tire close to the center line. Our roads are mostly 2 lane with lots of heavy truck traffic. Many of the roads have this cupped condition. 2 hands on the wheel is always a good idea in these cars.


Steve

 

[AJ]

not to be disrespectful, but a question like this begs for this advise: sell the car. you cant possibly handle 335 rear tires in the wet- they will kill you the moment you take off. go buy yourself a 4x4 with good off-road tires, traction control and when driving never exceed 35 mph and you should be safe.

just joking

the viper is just like any other high-power rear-wheel drive in the rain. treat it with respect and you will be ok.

alex
02 gts
few other cars

 

[mclean]

**I agree with the others, rain driving is suprisingly no worse than any other rear-whell drive vehicle (as long as youre not doing WOT turning) the biggest problem, for us RT10 owners, is the **** shower you take inside the car if your going over sixty and/or the rain is heavy. Top leakage is definitely an issue. **

Is this with the hard top or the soft top on? I just got my 2001 RT/10 mid March and have not driven in the rain.

Thanks for the help

 

[slaughterj]

I have no problems at high rates of speed in the viper in the rain, either with handling or with rain leakage, even in monsoons - you should be fine.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JMcGuire:
I'm amazed at how many guys drive around on near-slicks
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

With a new set of four tires at $1400+, I am waiting until I see the air in my tires before I replace them. Well okay, maybe until there is a sale of some sort anyway. I want to hook up with the Iowa Vipers on Saturday, but they are forecasting rain late tomorrow afternoon. While it has seen a little rain (very little), I am not thrilled with 200 miles in the rain on somewhat worn Pilots. Rats.

 

[GR8_ASP]

Biggest question is tires. If you are still using the original tires (XGTZ) I would be very careful. The age plus the poor wet capability of those tires originally would combine to be ... awful. If you have Pilots it should be okay.

Ron


Corrected original tire type. They were XGTZ

 

[King GTS]

I'd say you'd be perfectly fine unless you live in an area prone to flooding.

 

[Robert1994]

My biggest problem is the windshield wipers. It can be
misting and there's no problem, but let it build up to the
point of needing the wipers, they act like a big squeege
and the water runs in through the hood/door gap. At least
on mine. Is this typical ? I really don't have any trouble
with leaks around the top it self.

 

[picflight]

I havent driven a viper yet, I would have to agree with the most of you that it would handle like most high performance car on a wet road.

For the past 10 years I have always heard that a Viper is very difficult to drive in the rain but after reading this post those preconceptions are gone. I drove my Vette in the rain whenever it rains in LA, not much, and never had any problems controlling the car. I was just aware of traction through the seat.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by picflight:

For the past 10 years I have always heard that a Viper is very difficult to drive in the rain
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's mostly because the early Michelins were horrible in rain. Later years came with MXX3s which were better and now the Pilots which are better still in rain.

It always suprises me that people don't realize the upgrades made to cars every year. For example: GM has much better floor mats now than previous years. And the Dodge Viper went from 400hp to 420hp to 450hp to 500hp, but we still have those damm lousy floor mats.

Some things never change.

<FONT size="-3">for those who don't know me this last comment is a direct slam against GM. I couldn't care less about floor mats.</FONT s>